Meaning of Tears
by Alcarion
Summary: SessKag. it starts out typicallymaybe not so kagome's been hurt by Inu. Sess. appears, takes her back to her camp, and all hell breaks lose...dropped
1. Should Have Known

**AN-okay, now this fic has the potential to be either incredibly painful, or kinda good…and I'm not sure which of those it's gonna be…you expect me to know now? Oh well, I probably, in all good judgment, need to see more Inuyasha, but it runs at midnight on week nights, and my video player hates me, so I can't get it…I have to rely on one of my friends. Thank god she doesn't mind lending it to me. Thanks Sara^.^  and please, forgive the inevitable OOC-ness, it's gonna happen. And I need to point out something too, _  it is taken for granted that from the beginning in this, Sesshoumaru sees something in kagome. Something, okey? Oh damnit, already ranting random nonsense. On with the fic!!_**

**_DISCLAIMER-this will apply to the entire fic-the characters in this fic are not mine, apart from any that I make up(you'll know, you wont have ever heard of them)and I may twist the happenings a bit…_**

**Should Have Known**

Plop. The ripples from the pebble spread in never-ending concentric circles from where it had landed in the lake. Plop. Another pebble followed the first, creating opposite waves to the first, the tiny swells of water crashing against each other, a parody of their bigger cousins in the ocean. Thunk. A third stone, larger than the first two put together went sailing into the lake, sending sparkling drips onto the thrower's face.

Kagome didn't bother to wipe the water away. There was really no point, the silent tears trickling down her face weren't going to stop any time soon, she knew, so a few drops of water weren't going to hurt. 

Why hadn't she seen this coming? All the signs along the way had pointed to this, but she'd blithely ignored them, so sure in herself and in her 'knowledge'. She'd been certain that Inuyasha had feelings for her, besides seeing her as a shard detector and possible friend. But, oh! How wrong she had been. She'd sucked up all of her courage, and gone in search of the hanyou, intending to tell him how she felt. Well, she found him alright. With Kikyo. Kagome had 'overheard' their conversation. What the hell, she'd eavesdropped. And she'd been just in time to hear Kikyo ask Inuyasha if he still loved her, only her and not Kagome. _That had gotten her hooked, and she'd crept as close as she could to hear his answer. _

Unfortunately, her feet didn't get the message from her brain that she wanted to be quiet while she did it, and had stepped on a branch. Inuyasha's sensitive ears hadn't missed the crack, and when he rounded on her, his face went blank with shock, and then he had demanded to know what she was doing there. 

Kagome had refused to answer, instead she'd insisted that he answered Kikyo's question.

That had stopped the hanyou short, and Inuyasha had looked _very__ panicked. Then something in his eyes snapped and he'd said the most hurtful thing to Kagome that he'd said in their two years of travel together._

_"What does it matter to you bitch, if I still love Kikyo? If you had thought I had feelings for you, you can drop that idea now. If you have feelings for me, forget them as of now. All I see you as is The Shikon no Tama detector, a means to an end. But then again, why do I need you? Kikyo can see the shards, she can fight better, and yeah, I do love her. So, you're actually not needed anymore. I don't care what you do, but go away."_

When she hadn't moved, he'd charged her, swinging his claws in a vicious attempt to make her leave. Kagome had frozen as he rushed her, and then something woke inside her. A well of violet power had opened up, and she'd reached into its depths, pulling forth a bolt that sent Inuyasha sprawling back several feet. 

His grunt of pain and Kikyo's shocked gasp had brought her back to reality, and she'd fled. Her traitorous feet had done her a turn, and without her knowing it, brought her to the lake where she now sat.

Sighing, Kagome brought her knees up and rested her chin on folded arms, pensively staring out across the lake.

_What am I going to do? I can't leave; Miroku and Sango are still here. Then there's Shippo to think about, I definitely can't leave him here with Inuyasha, and I can't take him back to my time. Damn, how do I get myself into these situations? Oh damn it all! I'll stay. I can't abandon my friends, and Inuyasha is still my friend, even if I'm not his…_

Child's laughter brought Kagome back down to earth, and she spun just in time to see Rin run to the lake's edge, screeching in delight as the cool water lapped at her toes. And where ever Rin was, Sesshoumaru was sure to follow, which he did, looking as cold as ice. Kagome shrank into as small a ball as she could manage, shrinking down into the gravel, not wanting to be seen by the Western Lord. 

She had no such luck. Rin spied her shoes, and with a delighted giggle, ran up to Kagome and peered up under her bangs.

"Hey, hi!! I'm Rin, who're you pretty lady?". She paused as Kagome sniffed back a tear. "Why're you crying pretty lady? Rin doesn't want you to cry. C'mon, smile pretty lady, please? For Rin?"

The child's bright chatter and third person narration had made Kagome smile. Just a little.

_Why does this always happen to me? Oh well, since she's noticed me, it'll only be a matter of time before Sesshoumaru wakes up and sees me too._ She stole a glance at the Taiyoukai. He showed no signs of having seen her, appearing dead to the world. _ Guess it wont hurt even if he does see me. I'm expendable after all…_

"My name's Kagome, Rin." Sesshoumaru's head snapped up and turned their way. Kagome didn't notice. I'm crying because a person whom I thought was a friend said something very nasty to me, and hurt me.?"

Rin frowned and then a bright smile lit her face again. "Sesshoumaru-sama will make you smile again!" With that little thought, she left Kagome, and ran up to the tall youkai and tugged on his leg, not seeming to note that he was staring at Kagome, an inscrutable look in his amber eyes. Under that heavy gaze, Kagome shivered and cast her eyes downwards. 

"It was my idiot half-brother, was it not?"

"Eh?"

Sesshoumaru sighed. He had little patience with humans, but for now, he would forget that this girl was human, and find out what Inuyasha had done this time. "The person who hurt you, it was my brother, am I right?"

Kagome sighed and stared out across the lake again. "He said inasmuch that he hated me; that he could care less either way whether I lived or died." Another sigh. "He was with Kikyo. She wanted to know which of us he loved. He chose her" Kagome finished bleakly.

Sesshoumaru could not have thought less of his brother at that moment if he had tried. For all the loyalty, courage and love this girl had shown him over the years, and this was how he repaid her? Sesshoumaru was disgusted to say the very least.

"Get up girl. I will take you back to your friends."

Kagome was stunned. How'd he known that she was lost? And why was he actually being nice to her? Didn't the rules say that he was to try and kill her? Not that she cared or anything, but what was he doing? Not one to pass up an offer though, she scrambled to her feet, and trailed behind the tall youkai, watching his silver hair brush back and forth across the forest floor, the tips barely missing the dust. Plucking up her courage, she drew abreast of him, looked him in the face, and asked him why he was helping.

No response. _Well, no surprise there. I guess it was too much to expect him to be friendly on top of nice._

The trio continued to trek in silence towards where Kagome and her friends were camping. Rin skipped alongside the path, picking flowers as she gamboled about. Kagome then realized that there was one member of Sesshoumaru's usual traveling group missing. Jakken. Not wanting to ask another pointless question that Sesshoumaru wouldn't answer, Kagome bit back and followed along. 

Through the quiet, she could hear something was wrong. There was no noise. Nothing, the forest was still as a grave. There was no bird song, as there had been scant minutes ago. Nothing moved in the bushes. Nothing, save for a flash of white.

Without warning, Kagome found herself on Sesshoumaru's back, with Rin by her side. Sesshoumaru's sudden burst of speed had her flying back behind her. Rin laughed delightedly, but Kagome was worried, Sesshoumaru too, judging by the way his shoulders were tensed, and his habitual mask completely blank. Even when he had had it in place by the lake, she still saw a little of what he was feeling. But now it was unreadable. And that had her worried.

Banking the turn of track that lead to her camp, they entered on a scene of chaos. Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga was out and swinging in full force, and had been for a long time too, if the toppled trees around him were any testimony. Sango and Miroku stood by, Miroku with one hand on the prayer beads that covered his wind tunnel, Sango had her oversized boomerang at the ready, and both were watching for a gap to strike. 

Naraku smiled as the girls entered in, riding the demon lord's back. This was all too easy.

As soon as he had taken in what was happening, Sesshoumaru dumped the two girls from his back, and leapt at Naraku, hands glowing sickly green with poison. Seeing where he was going to land, Naraku made a leap of his own.

Kagome watched from the sidelines, huddled around Rin to keep her from seeing what was happening. She flinched when Sesshoumaru leapt off, the dust burning in her eyes. She turned her back on the battle, Rin still clutched in her arms. So she didn't see Naraku jump, she didn't see him land only meters away, and she completely missed the hardened shaft of miasma that he shot directly at her. She did however, feel it crunch straight through her right shoulder, barely missing Rin's head. She bit back a pained scream, and threw her head back in silent anguish, not hearing the outraged screams of the others.

_Should have known…_  


	2. What Comes From Within

**AN-I don't believe my eyes and my inbox….this actually got reviews!! Thank you who reviewed very much^.^ I wasn't expecting any for the first chapter^.^ and sorry about the format, I forgot to save it in Html format which explained a lot when I actually saw it….:-S anyway, tally-ho!! Go forth and read*evil laugh* yes, all must read!! MWAHAHA!!................*sweatdrops* let's all forget I just did that, ne? oh, and a favor. If any of you know of good sites get Japanese terminology, could you let me know? Onegai??**

**What Comes From Within **

Hot knives, ice daggers and melting shards of glass came nowhere near to describing the pain that Kagome was in. She shoved Rin away, and gagged reflexively at the pain the small movement caused. Sickened, she looked down at the deadly black branch that protruded from her shoulder. Kagome twisted slightly, the knowledge of what she must do to free herself lingering in her mind, yet she didn't want to commit herself to it. The pain that it would cause…_is a small price to pay for getting yourself off this goddamn poison pole!_ Kagome gave in to the more logical part of her mind, knowing it was right, but still hesitating to do it. It was Miroku's yells, and Sango's cries of 'Hiraikotsu!' that finally gave her the strength to free herself. Bracing her feet on the ground, she wrapped one hand around the tip of the pole, and planted the other firmly on the ground. Gathering all of her courage, she shoved forward, dislodging the miasma from her shoulder in one swift, nauseating crunch. 

Kagome keeled over on the ground, her hand still wrapped around the miasma, blood pooling on the front of her white uniform shirt. Dimly, she was aware of Sesshoumaru standing a few feet away with Rin, sword drawn and waiting for her to move. Inuyasha's bellows faintly reached her ears, and she smiled weakly. Leave it up to that twit to make such a racket at such a serious time. A twitching, writhing feeling made her realize that she still held the miasma in her hand. She looked down its length at Naraku, who had forgotten her for the moment, too busy trading blows with Inuyasha to remember her. Which she took full advantage of.

The pool of violet power opened up again, and she pictured it in the far recesses of her mind. In answer to her silent call, it reared up a head, and pooled down into her waiting palm. 

The bright glowing that did not emanate from the jewel fragments around his neck rapidly diverted Naraku's attention from one impertinent hanyou to the wounded miko, who was still clutching his miasma tendril. The only thing was, her other palm was burning with the fierce violet of her own stylized brand of miko power-and that worried him immensely. For he had sensed her power, gauged its potential, and had been truly worried by what he had seen there-raw, brute strength. 

Kagome sensed Naraku's eyes on her, and felt his growing fear. She smiled feebly, and sent the now white-hot stream of power directly along the miasma strand, pumping all the hurt she felt into it, making sure that the bastard would be feeling the after affects of her attack for a while. The crackling and hissing around Narauku's body made Inuyasha and the others cower back a bi, for Naraku was not giving into Kagome's attack lightly. Instead, he was fighting it with his own poison. The power slowly built up around him, stretching out in a smoldering pink-black ball. The two powers reached a peak, and the entire mess burst outwards in one gigantic explosion. 

Before unconsciousness took her, Kagome had the satisfaction of seeing Naraku drop to his knees in pain. Then the blackness came and she flew off into the dark.

~0r0~

Sesshoumaru woke a few minutes later to find himself burdened down by a heavy weight on his chest. With a grunt, he heaved himself into a sitting position and inspected the thing that had been weighing him down. It was Rin, curled up into a peaceful bundle on his lap; the only signs of the fight were a few smudges of dirt on her chin and a streak of blood across her forehead. Blood. Kagome…she had been near him when the thing had exploded. He shifted Rin off his lap and laid hr on a convenient patch of leaves nearby, careful not to disturb her slumber. Then her rose, and looked around the clearing he and Rin had landed in. a scrap of red and white screamed for his attention, and upon inspection, discovered Kagome lying face down at the base of a tree. Blood was all around her, on her skirt, on the tree trunk, staining the grass around her. This did not bode well for her survival.

Gently, lest he hurt her even more, Sesshoumaru rolled the human miko over to inspect her wound. The sight of it made even the usually expressionless and uncaring Demon Lord hiss in sympathy. The gaping hole in her shoulder was matted with dirt and dried blood. It was amazing she was not dead from blood loss; the hole caused by the miasma was large and had bled freely. Something vague and unnamed stirred in his chest; Sesshoumaru was worried for this human girl. Her death would mean the two pesky humans and the kitsune she traveled with would never leave him be. The kitsune…Sesshoumaru had not seen him the entire time, something new to the Taiyoukai. Usually the child was hanging off Kagome's shoulder, but today, he had not been. Sesshoumaru stuffed that puzzle away for later, and turned back to the problem at hand. If she _did die, he could always revive her with Tensaiga. The remembrance of the hated sword snapped him back into the present completely, and he reached for his side where it usually hung. His hand grasped thin air. This was _not_ good._

Sesshoumaru searched the clearing for any hint of the sword, but none was forth coming. He glared back down at the unconscious girl bellow him in annoyance. He could not go look for the sword, she would die before he returned. He growled at his predicament. 

_Why the hell am I fussing over a human child for? She means nothing to me…_

…she saved Rin's life…

_Rin was an experiment in the first place, a convenient trail for Tensaiga._

…and now you love her like a daughter.

Sesshoumaru snarled out a curse at the part of his mind that was answering him so rationally. His father's blood ran stronger in his veins than he had supposed, giving him this cursed weakness where humans were concerned. If only his father hadn't…and then he remembered. The one way he could save Kagome without the Tensaiga.

Not hesitating, he drew a sharp claw across his wrist, the blood beading in his palm. Without further preamble, he slapped his bleeding palm over Kagome's injured shoulder, letting the blood drip into her injury. He pressed his hand down as hard as he dared, making sure his cut and her wound were firmly pressed together.

Something in the far regions of Kagome's mind told her that her shoulder was on fire. She moaned, and tried to twist away from the weight that accompanied the burning, but she couldn't move. The thing grew heavier, and her shoulder burnt more and more.

Sesshoumaru managed to curse very fluently as Kagome tried to buck his hand off. Nearly growling in frustration, he dug his claws into her shoulder a bit, trying to secure his hand's position. Then something very strange happened. Something that he did not expect. Kagome went very still, so much so that he thought she'd died. Suddenly her eyes flew open, no longer their normal chocolate brown, but a deep ocean blue. She made a low rumbling sound in the back of her throat, and a slash of red appeared down her cheek. Sesshoumaru started, reaching out to touch what he thought was blood, and then jerked his hand back in surprise when he realized what it was. Shaped like a sharp triangle, Kagome now sported a demon mark. 

Somehow, his blood had turned her into a hanyou.


	3. Starless

**AN-ano…I got reviews…lots of reviews…for only two chapters……^.^ phwee, you guys are great. Sorry, there are too many to go through and list you all, but to all who reviewed, a huge, heartfelt thank you from me, and a round of applause to go with it. Now, shall we continue with the insanity, err….story…?**

**_Starless _**

****

She lifted up one slim, white hand and stared at it. Once delicate fingernails had become lethal claws, slim and deadly in the dim light under the trees.  She cinched them in the way she'd seen Inuyasha done so many times, and was startled when they grew a bit, readying themselves instinctively for use. Minute sounds flickered into her ears, and they swiveled to get the best possible scope of the noise…wait a sec, swiveled?

Kagome reached a tentative claw up to where her ears should have been, but scraped nothing but new skin, just grown over and still fragile. Shaking now, she reached up to the top of her head, and promptly fainted for the second time that day as she touched tufted black ears, much like Inuyasha's, the only difference being that hers had a little bit more fur on the ends, as if she were going for the 'love me, I'm cute' look. 

Sesshoumaru groaned in disgust as Kagome fainted. Now he had to carry the thoughtless half breed back to his castle and…

_Back to my castle?!_ His mind shrieked at him. _Why the hell am I taking her back to my castle??!? However, his body still stooped down and scooped Kagome's prone form into his arms. __Oh this is perfect; I'm stuck with a half breed female of my own creation, and my brother's female at that. Somehow though, he couldn't quite bring himself to say wench as he looked down on Kagome's face, her hair drifting across her face in the breeze as they flew._

Sesshoumaru looked up at the sky.  During the time that had passed in their small clearing, the sun had managed to go down. The night sky was blank, devoid of any lights save the moon, which was shadowed and pale, a slip of its usual silver glory.

_Huh__, starless night…_

~*~

Something tickled Kagome's over sensitive nose. She snorted and brushed it away, but the thing persisted, trailing a maddening, tickling dance around her nose. Her hand latched out and clasped on to the thing,- _someone's hand?-_, that was tickling, earning a startled gasp, then a delighted squeal from the tickler.

"Kagome-chan is up! Yay! Will Kagome-chan come play with Rin? Rin's lonely cos' Sesshoumaru-sama is out, and Rin has no one to talk to...pleeeeeeaaaaaaaseeeeeeeee Kagome-chan??"

Kagome didn't have the heart to say no to such a pleading voice first thing in the morning. She cracked open one eye, and the glare from the midday sun nearly blinded her. Blinking a couple of times, she rubbed her eyes, and tried again. Every tiny detail in the room was thrown into sharp perspective. What she could never normally see, Kagome could now pick out with ease. An enchanting perfume wafted Kagome's nostrils and she sniffed in pleasure, trying to discern its origin. It was coming from Rin. Sunshine and daffodils; bluebells and tea; smiles and giggles; an all encompassing happiness, the total innocence of childhood. Throwing aside the question as to how she could smell it and more importantly, why the wound in her shoulder was gone, Kagome reached down and ruffled Rin's hair gently.

"Can you tell me where some clothes are Rin?"

The child nodded eagerly, and grabbed Kagome's hand, dragging her towards a previously unnoticed closet in the corner of a very traditional Japanese room. The delighted child threw open the doors, and the array of kimonos inside made Kagome gasp, and reach out a hand to feel if the things were real, they were so fine. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama said to let you wear these if you woke up. He didn't tell me where he was going, but he left Jakken here and Jakken doesn't know either cos' I already asked him but he didn't say anything so I guess he doesn't know. Rin doesn't know when Sesshoumaru-sama will be back either. Rin doesn't mind though, Rin has Kagome-chan to play with now instead of old boring Jakken. Jakken's so boring, he won't play with Rin at all, all he does is snap and tell me to go away."

The child's incessant prattling soon made Kagome's mood brighter, the confusing questions leaving her head in the face of the girl's cheerfulness. She sent Rin to wait outside the room door, saying that 'if Rin-chan lets Kagome-chan get dressed, Kagome-chan will play with Rin-chan all day'. She couldn't help the third person dialogue; Rin's way of speaking was infectious. The tiny girl had blinked, and then scampered out as she hurried to comply with what Kagome asked. 

Left alone, Kagome turned to the closet to pick one of the gorgeous kimonos. Her hand ran along red, black, yellow, and green silk, before coming to rest on a deep blue silk kimono. She pulled it out, and immediately loved the cherry blossoms that trickled down both sides of the collar, before finishing under the even darker blue of the obi. Satisfied with her choice, Kagome set about putting it on. The feel of it and the way it moved made her feel like a Queen.

_I wonder who these belonged to? It's not as if Sesshoumaru would have kimonos in his house for no reason, unless they'd belonged to someone he knew…I wonder if…_ Kagome let the thought dry up, and went out to the waiting Rin, who ooohhh'd at the way Kagome looked, then towed her off to the kitchens to collect a picnic lunch, for it was already past midday. That done, the tow of them headed for the fields outside of the fortress, Rin intent on picking thousands of bouquets for Sesshoumaru and Kagome, Kagome meanwhile, wanting to simply get some fresh air, and the chance to see what Sesshoumaru's little part of the world was like.

~*~

The Lord of the Western Lands had had it. He hated to deal with his obnoxious brother at the best of times, and with his patience and energy worn so low, he had snapped. The worthless hanyou had been so insolent that Sesshoumaru had wasted no time in grabbing him in the clichéd neck grip and slammed him against the side of a convenient building. When the houshi had tried to intervene, he'd told him in no uncertain terms, to kindly _stay out of it. Showing some level of intelligence, the monk had scrambled back, and Sesshoumaru had fixed his icy glare on his sibling, and demanded to know what had passed between him and Kagome, and where Naraku was._

 Like a true idiot, Inuyasha had tried to free himself, but when Sesshoumaru's hand had glowed a faint green, and his grip on Inuyasha's throat had tightened, the hanyou had decided that it would be a good time to spill what he knew. While he had listened to his hanyou brother choke out the tale and information, Sesshoumaru had noticed that the undead priestess had stayed to one side, away from the monk and taijya **(AN-help, spelling)** and had just watched the whole shenanigan fold out before her, making no move to help Inuyasha. That, Sesshoumaru had found to be very curious. The bitch that his brother had chosen over Kagome was watching him be hurt, and not making a single move to stop it. Sesshoumaru had then pitied his brother, and dropping him in an undignified heap, Sesshoumaru had left. However, he was held back by the demon huntress, who had demanded to know where Kagome was. His frosty answer had roused a glare and a movement of her hand to her weapon, which she would have thrown if the monk had not stopped her. Taking the two's devotion to Kagome into consideration, he had plainly told them that she was well, and would be taken care of.

That said, he had disappeared, using what little speed he had left to get as far away from the village as he could, and as close to his castle as possible. 

He knew he'd not make it by nightfall, but he plied on all the speed he could muster, and pressed on. But little by little, his headlong dash had slowed, his speed crawling down to the staggering walk that was all he could muster. He was bemused as to why his energy was nonexistent. Usually, the events of a day like this would have been nothing to him, yet now he was having trouble keeping a straight line as he ran. All that kept him going, was the knowledge of what had happened with Kagome, and that his home, and her, were only minutes away. 

Musical laughter reached his wearied ears and he twitched, the sound nearly foreign to his senses. The last of his strength fled him, and the last thing that he saw before he toppled over, was the night sky, once again starless.

~*~

The crashing of something falling over reached Kagome's ears and she jolted into alertness, pulling Rin close to her, effectively ending their game of chase. Rin's nervous hand wormed its way into her won, and Kagome smiled down at the scared child.

"Rin-chan, would you please go back to the castle and see what's there in the way of dinner? I'll be along in a bit; I just want to see something"

"But Kagome-chan!..." the child started, but silenced herself at a look from Kagome. With a small sigh, she shuffled off back in the direction of the fortress, casting a last, pleading look at Kagome. But Kagome did not see it, she was already heading noise had come from, moving with as much stealth as she could gather.

Every leaf that crackled underfoot, each stick that snapped made her wince and tense, waiting for some unknown enemy to make itself visible. She cocked her fingers, and felt her new claws grow out to a reassuring length, their sharpness making her feel a bit more comfortable. Whatever she was now, she was not helpless.

But nothing helped the shock that she felt when she caught sight of Sesshoumaru's prone form, lying still and silvery on the ground. Plying on speed, she was by his side in an instant, lifting his head up, bending her hear to his lips to try and hear if he was breathing, hands checking for any damage. Finding no damage, and relieved to hear his even, albeit exhausted breaths, Kagome worked her arms underneath him and struggled to pick him up. 

The jostling woke Sesshoumaru up, and the first thing his eyes saw when they opened was Kagome's concerned profile as she tried to hoist him into her arms, no easy feat for someone of her size to accomplish. Making no sound, he glanced past her head and into the night sky. The stars had come out.

~*~

Sesshoumaru awoke to the feeling of a cool, soothing hand stroking his forehead, another hand intertwined in his own. The smell of jasmine was all around him, sweet and benign.

Cracking his golden eyes open, he stared up into Kagome's azure ones, gazing down at him, a hesitant worry in their depths.

"What…where am I?"  he croaked, to cranky at his remembered fall to be nice.

Kagome frowned, a slight wrinkle marring the smooth skin of her forehead. "In my room. I didn't know where yours was, and besides, you were too heavy for me to carry that far. To all appearances, I may now be a half-demon, but I'm not so sure I have the strength of one yet. Now get up, you look and smell like you need a bath."

The comment stung, and Sesshoumaru instantly retorted. "Speak for yourself wench, you don't smell too sweet either."

The wrinkle in Kagome's forehead deepened, and a spark of anger appeared in her eyes. Without a word, she wrenched her hand from where it had been so warmly cupped in his own, then promptly rolled him off the other side of the low futon he was lying on. The indignity at such treatment rose in him like a storm, and he turned on her to do god knows what, but stopped when he saw her standing there, fists clenched and looking all ready for a shouting match, or whatever else she thought he was going to throw at her.

"Know just listen here a minute, you self-righteous bastard. I know you saved my life, by methods I'd rather not know right now, and given, I haven't yet thanked you for that, but then I haven't exactly had the chance! So consider yourself thanked! Now, here I am, just having saved your royal ass, and put you up in my room, which, granted, is in your castle, but it's still my room! And then you have the gall to insult me right off the bat! I really don't give a damn if you saved me or not, to all ends it might have been better if you hadn't, but while I'm alive, I will _not_ be spoken to like that. I don't care who it is who's doing the speaking, but I'm not gonna take it!!"

During Kagome's rant, Sesshoumaru had just stood and watched her, something stirring deep within him. Never mind that he could rip her limb from limb where she stood, the girl had the audacity to push him off her bed and then yell at him. In his own house. She couldn't care less for the danger that she may be in, she had pride and she wasn't going to stand for it being hurt…something which he respected and understood, all too well some might say. Holding up a hand to forestall anything else that she might feel like saying, he stepped around the edge of her futon, and towards her.

"You may stop that. Your thanks is duly noted. Now, I believe that you really have nowhere to go, unless you would like to chance going back to Inuyasha?" he spat out the word with apparent distaste.

Kagome hesitated. _What is he getting at?_ "Yeah, I guess you're right…but what?"

Sesshoumaru held up his hand again. "Well, that being the case, you will stay here. You as of yet know not how to control your demon side beyond instinct. So I shall train you to understand and use it. Now, if you will excuse me?"

He swept out of the room, leaving one sputtering, and _very confused hanyou miko behind to stare after him._


	4. Day After Day

**AN-okay, I know, I haven't updated in god knows how long, but eh….I'm sorry, it was no fault of my own, well, indirectly…..it was, what the hell am I saying?? But the main point of this ramble is to apologize. And to say thank you to Suki, who so nicely complimented my work…but I don't think that this is pro stuff…yet. But thank you very very much anyway. And hey, Sailor Chibi Jupiter, I'll take the donut, thanks, but I'm not telling you what the stars mean yet. You will find out though, sometime… wow, I feel special^.^;;; thank you all, very, very much.**

**DISCLAIMER: ::tugs Sesshy's arm:: are you mine? ::jumps back as Sesshy growls:: guess not…**

**Day After Day**

**(btw, if you guys can guess where these songs are from, I'll give you cookies)**

The cool night breeze stirred Kagome's hair as she leaned over the parapet that coursed the edge of the small balcony out side her rooms. Moon and starlight silvered the blackness of her hair and ears, streaming through it like mercury. A drop slipped down her cheek, liquid crystal under that pure light. Kagome's thoughts were stirred, mixed into a crazed cocktail. She missed the normality of her old life, her _ordinary life. If she was by any definition, a 'normal girl' anymore, then she couldn't see it, __at _all_. Most girls would be in their proper time for a start. Then, their normal cares wouldn't be anywhere as weird as hers were. They'd worry about when homework was due. What to wear out to that party. Who to call for the new TV show time. What color to paint their nails. How to ask their crush out. Things that normal, everyday girls would fret over._

Instead, Kagome was stuck here. Here, being 500 years in the past. The Sengoku Jidai. Now, normally that wouldn't matter as much. But she was a half demon!! Turned so by her usual companion's thought-to-be devil-of-a-half-brother. So what she was stuck worrying about was a hell of a lot different to any normal girl's concerns.

 Instead of worrying about her homework, she worried about the all powerful shards of a jewel that she splintered as the supposed reincarnation of the miko who used to protect it. Which in itself was a highly unlikely event in the first place.

Instead of worrying what to wear to the next party, she was stuck wondering what to wear when her uniform or borrowed kimono got trashed because of Sesshoumaru's 'training'. 

Instead of worrying about what time a TV show was on, she'd have to figure out when it was going to rain, snow or hail, otherwise the all powerful master of the castle she resided at wouldn't let her back in, insisting that if she was even a lowly half demon, if she was of his blood, then she should be able to smell the weather.

Instead of worrying over the color of her nails, she was worrying over the condition of her claws. Sesshoumaru insisted that while she would have some form of energy or poison like his or his whip, her claws were always a primary defense, so their care and maintenance was of utmost importance.

With all these worries, Kagome was surprised she hadn't turned into a wrinkled old prune. One of the few benefits of demon blood, she supposed. Not that that was the only perk. Her hearing, eyesight and speed were all heightened beyond belief. She could hear a bird call over a mile away. She could smell out a hare's tracks after heavy rain. She could see what a fish was doing  hundreds of yards upstream, with the sunlight reflecting off the water and all. No, there were some benefits to this demonization of her body. but with all her heart, Kagome wished that she was the normal, 16 year old school girl who used to run around with Inuyasha still.

It wasn't that she was ungrateful to Sesshoumaru for taking her in, and training her, let alone for saving her life. It was just, he was so damned hard to read. Inuyasha was like an open book, but this guy…if Kikyo was the ice queen, then Sesshoumaru was the ice king. Kagome could decipher nothing from his glacial countenance, and it was driving her nuts! He'd tell her to do something, or compliment her if she did something well, but he never showed any emotion at all.

 Kagome pitied him. While he may insist that demons had no need for emotions, he couldn't see that others around him had. Poor Rin was practically emotionally starved before Kagome arrived, and had been lapping up what she got from Kagome with an undisguised thirst. That fact alone had earned Sesshoumaru another check in the negative list Kagome had been keeping. He couldn't see out past his own nose. He couldn't carry on a normal conversation. He was loved starved. He was inhumanly cruel. He kept trying to kill Inuyasha. He…had saved her life. He had helped her, taught her about her powers, kept her clothed, fed and sheltered. 

But the one thing he could not teach her about were her miko powers. Since she had awakened after that first day, she had been exploring what she could do with her power. That had been a month ago. Now, Kagome had nearly total control over them. It seemed that her demon blood resisted the use of them, but that with that resistance, her miko side knew all the more what to do. Now, she could create barriers. Heal. Protect. Nurture. Grow. Build. Strengthen. And…kill. Kagome's miko powers had developed to the level that she could now fully purify, if not kill Sesshoumaru himself. When he had seen that, he had started treating her with more care, more respect. And she had reveled in it. To have respect from the great Demon Lord of the West was to have it all.

Yet nevertheless, Kagome was lonely beyond all measure. Rin kept her company, to be sure, but there was a hole inside Kagome that couldn't be filled. One that Inuyasha had been so close to filling, then had only torn it further open. The ache in her chest had been growing daily, and she dropped her cheek to the cool stones under her arms, drawing a little strength from their solidarity. 

She'd heard nothing of Sango or Miroku for the past month, and no matter how far she searched, or how high she looked, it was as if they had disappeared from the face of the earth. Sesshoumaru had even tried to help. Yet with all his connections and allies, he had not been able to turn up any sign of them. In an uncharacteristic show of kindness, he had even gone out to look with Kagome, leaving Jakken in charge of all his matters. But not even the combined efforts of the two had turned up any sign of the missing taiyja or monk. Shippou and Kirara had gone too, vanishing along with Sango and Miroku.

  Slowly, but surely, her world was crumbling around her, and there seemed to be she could do about it.

~*~

Sesshoumaru slipped quietly from side to side the darkened forest, his senses all on high alert. His grounds were not right, some slight feeling out of whack. He had gone throughout the lands bordering his castle, yet he could find nothing out of the ordinary. What disturbed him more was the fact that the disturbance seemed to be coming from within his fortress, if not the grounds around it. Sesshoumaru snarled and cut a tree branch out of his way as he sped back to his home. This was not right, and he did not like it one bit.

He slowed to a halt at the edge of the forest, a scent flowing over the breeze to him troubling him. He halted his forward dash and slid quietly around to the side of the building where Kagome's rooms were. And there she was, propped up against the stonework. He sniffed again and found the scent he caught before, loud and clear. 

Tears. Sadness. A hopelessness that cloaked the miko like the night's darkness cloaked the forest. He slipped out of the shadows and gazed at her, wonderingly, almost tenderly. The tear that had been trickling down her cheek dropped off the tip of her nose and fell towards him. He stretched out a finger and caught the drop, bringing it up to eyelevel. The crystalline drop hung on his finger for a moment, before sliding from his finger into the grass below.

Sesshoumaru looked back up at Kagome, a quiet understanding in his normally cold eyes. She felt the one emotion that had been plaguing him his entire life, one that her presence had started to cure, not that he could ever tell her that. A quick jump brought him up to crouch on Kagome's balcony, only to be welcomed with the crackling shock of her miko powers. The tips of his hair curled, and the violet power snapped around the startled hanyou-miko's hands. Cursing he stumbled back and Kagome let out a breath she had been unaware that she'd been holding.

"God's curse it woman! Do you always greet your guests like that?!"

Kagome's retort was quick and sharp. "Only the idiots who have the gall to jump up on my balcony unannounced in the middle of the night. You trained me; you should have known what my reaction would be."

Sesshoumaru said nothing to that, and smoothed out the tips of his hair instead. She was right, and he had made a stupid mistake. "My apologies"

Kagome's mouth dropped open. "Did you just…no, I must've been hearing things. Did the great Sesshoumaru really just apologize to a hanyou? Dear lord, the world's gonna end."

Sesshoumaru's lips twitched, which Kagome caught. She never knew what to make of that expression, she never knew whether he was smiling or snarling. She did what any sensible person who wished to keep their head around the Demon Lord would do, and promptly shut her mouth with a snap, jarring her fangs in the process. She let out a muffled curse and massaged her jaw, taking her eyes off Sesshoumaru for a moment.

When she looked back at him, he was watching her cautiously, looking her over like a prized possession. She quirked an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You looked sad before," came his quiet answer, "I came to make sure you were alright."

That caught her off guard, and it was a few minutes before she could answer. "I...I'm fine. What gave you the idea that I was anything otherwise?"

"You were crying." Sesshoumaru let that small fact hang in the air as he gauged her reaction. It was strange. First she bristled in apparent anger over the fact that he had obviously been watching her. Next came confusion as to where he was going with this conversation. Finally, a smiling bemusement settled on her features.

"No Sesshoumaru, I wasn't really crying, more like…remembering. Feeling. I guess it's a human thing, since you always insist that demons don't feel."

"Demons do feel, we just don't show it like humans do. Get some rest Kagome, we need to be up early tomorrow. It seems that Shippou is somewhere out to the north, if what that rat youkai told me was correct. We leave at dawn." And with that, he disappeared from her sight, leaving her to stumble over to her bed, and fall on it in a tangle of limbs. Her head reeled and she shut her eyes, one hand going up to rub her forehead. If Shippou was there, then what did that mean? Where were the others?

Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day.


	5. Chance Response

**_AN- now isn't this bloody amazing. I've actually started on the next chapter….HOLY F…ruitcake. With almonds. Yes dear readers, this is what happens when I have chocolate. Not pretty, is it? but what the hell. My very sincere thanks goes out to all of you who reviewed. And I just realized a very strange thing…this story has had no flames…whatsoever…well, apart from the complaints about the formatting, but hey, that was an honest mistake…… :-D really, it was…fine then don't believe me, but you shall feel my wrath….Dear God help me……^End Rant^_**

****

**Chance Response**

Dawn should have been a welcoming thing. Instead, it was quite the opposite. Oh, it wasn't because there were any demons lurking about, no, in fact Kagome wished that there were a few of the power hungry/mad buggers about just so she could kick their joint asses from here to kingdom come. Dawn was completely unwelcome because dawn was so goddamn early.

For the third time that morning Kagome raised a fist and shook it at the powers-that-were who resided in the sky. Nasty wee fuckers. They just had to go and make dawn this cursed early. Sighing, she dropped her fist and resumed her hole-boring in Sesshoumaru's back. The whole reason she was staring at his was because she couldn't sense Shippou. So he'd assumed the lead position, which he probably would've done anyway, but the contemptuous glance that he'd shot her way had kept her brush in the air all morning. 

Sesshoumaru, meanwhile, was trying to ignore the malcontent behind him and actually locate the cursed kit that she seemed to be so attached to. Damn it all, he was growing a heart. He'd manage to stave off the emotion growing while he'd been around Rin, but this cursed miko was just screwing his balance. Which screwed in turn with his mind. Which _in turn_ screwed up his heart banning process. And he hated that. That miko was really tweaking his internal system off balance. Which was a very disconcerting feeling, because it had never happened before. Never.

When the proverbial hole in his back had almost reached his heart, it suddenly disappeared, and Kagome let out a strangled squawk. Sesshoumaru turned, were the immediate question of what was wrong springing to his lips, but Kagome was already bounding over to a small patch of…mushrooms? Now just what was the significance of the mushrooms? He asked as much.

Kagome tilted her face up to him, her smoky eyes shinning. "They're Shippou's trail markers. When Kouga first kidnapped me, Shippou left a trail of these for the others to find us. Well, he would've succeeded, if the wolf pack hadn't tried to eat them as food." She snorted and reached out a delicate claw to stroke the silken dome. "Those fools always _did think with their stomachs."_

She rose from her haunches and threw him a light look, the first he had seen in the month she'd been with him. "You coming?"

With his nod, she stepped lightly over the first polka-dotted 'shroom and slipped through the bushes behind it. Sesshoumaru started to follow, but his foot didn't even pass the first magic mushroom before Kagome's howl of rage spun him off balance. Startled beyond belief, he burst through the bushes ahead, only to be confronted with the sight of Kagome's hunched form cradling something, with no demon in sight. Loosing the rein on his new found frustration with the woman he raked a hand through his hair, casting an annoyed glance over to the crouched hanyou. "There is nothing here. What is wrong with you woman?" 

Kagome twisted to face him, and her enraged look hit him in the gut like a freight train, if he'd known what a freight train was, even though it was all too apparent the next second that her anger was not directed at him. Nestled brokenly in her arms was the kitsune's tiny form, beaten and bloodied beyond recognition. He wasn't moving either. 

Sesshoumaru took his eyes off the furious miko and spread his senses out, searching for any remaining traces of youki. Naraku's stench was everywhere, saturating everything, all bar the place where Kagome was sitting. Her magic had purified the space around her, and scrapped a shallow hole in the ground, but they had not spread to the rest of the stink.  Sesshoumaru sneezed violently and absently rubbed at his nose as he knelt beside Kagome. He placed a hand on her trembling shoulder, reaching with the other to touch the kitsune's face. It was freezing. The child had been dead for a long time. Sesshoumaru stood drawing Tensaiga and motioning for Kagome to place Shippou's body on the ground where it had been. When she snarled at him, the rein on his already frayed patience snapped. "Do it woman. Now, before you lose his last chance at life altogether" he hissed.

Kagome's eyebrow's drew together in a frown, but she nevertheless complied, and moved back to stand beside him.

"What are you going to do?"

"Tensaiga is the sword of healing, the sword of life. I can try to bring him back. I doubt he will be able to _be brought back though; we did not find him in time."_

Kagome shuddered, and he spared her a fleeting look, but her bangs obscured her face completely. He took one last glance back at the small form on the ground, before putting Tensaiga back in it's sheathe. Kagome, started, and grabbed his arm. He shook off her hand, and picked up the lifeless body.

"There is nothing I can do for him. His soul has already gone, but it was not the reapers who took it."

Kagome crumpled on the ground, like the clichéd puppet with its strings cut. The liquid crystal of her tears once more tracked its way down her cheeks. She reached out a trembling finger and plucked the last mushroom, crushed and bloodstained, from where Shippou had thrown it. Twisting it in her fingers she looked up at him, her face hard.

"If it wasn't the reapers who took his soul, then what, or who, was it."

The quiet violence in her eyes made even him hesitate before answering. "Kikyo"

The stormy grey in Kagome's eyes darkened to a flat black. Gently, with a frightening calm, she picked up Shippou's body and placed it in the crack her powers had created. She placed a hand on the body and closed her eyes. In the blink of an eye, the hole looked no more different than any other patch of ground, and just as firm. 

Kagome stood, Shippou's last mushroom still trapped in her fingers. Sesshoumaru watched her stare at it, like she was lost in her own world. Suddenly, she tucked it in a pocket of her haori, a miniature of Sesshoumaru's, only in a deep blue minus the flowers.

Her voice, gravelly and low, barely reached his ears. "She denies him his last chance at life…so I will take hers in exchange. But before I do, I will find out why she took his soul. No one, or nothing will stop me," and here she fixed Sesshoumaru with a piercing gaze, "not even you, Sesshoumaru, or by the gods, you will spend the rest of your days as a mindless, powerless shadow of what you were, I swear it."

Sesshoumaru's golden gaze narrowed and he studied her, long and hard. He had no doubt that she would make good on her threat, but then he had no intention of stopping her.  The kitsune had been her adopted son, that he had known, and he would not stand in the way of her revenge. That he would leave to her and her alone. 

Kagome took his silence as his acquiescence, and lifted her nose, eyes closed. Blocking out Naraku's stench, she searched for the of Kikyo's soul stealers. It did not take her long to find it, and when she had it, all that signified her passing was the brush of the air she displaced on her death sprint towards Kikyo. 

The bitch would die slowly, and painfully once again, of that, she would personally make sure.

**AN-umm, don't kill me…please? *runs shrieking in fear***


	6. Dance of Curse

**AN-*yawns* now people, I think we need to clear something up…well, I have to clear it up. Kikyo did _not_ kill Shippo, it was Naraku. However, she did steal his soul, so in a way, she did kill him, but not directly. Anywho, this chapter might not contain the Kikyo ass-whopping that you all want, because I didn't want the storyline to go in the direction jus yet, although it looks as if it may. But we're not there yet. **

**_Michelle- you've read all my stories?!?!*swoons* I feel so special._**

** And to the rest of you, thankyouthankyouthankyou. This story's gotten more reviews in a shorter time than my other two combined…seems ppl read Inuyasha fics more than DBZ.  Meh.**

**DISCLAIMER-seems that I've been neglecting this, although I did say that in the first chapter, that disclaimer would apply for the whole fic.**** But again, I DON'T OWN INUYASHA. ICH NICHT HABE INUYASHA. YO NO POSEER INUYASHA. JE NE PAS PROPRE INUYASHA. **

**How many more languages do you want me to say it in?? although I'm not sure if any of those are correct, especially the Spanish. So I live in ****Miami**** and can't speak Spanish. So sue me, I take Latin.**

**AGO NON HABE INUYASHA!!!**

**That enough for you all??**** Some one correct them please…BWAHAHAHAAA!! Escaflowne names're fuuuuuuuuuuuun(if you don't get that, then there really is no hope…)**

**_Dance of Curse_**

****

He could feel it everywhere. Sadness. Longing. Pitiful crying. Then nothing. An emptiness that stretched on and on. Then abruptly he was slammed up against what felt like rock. The crashing of wailing spirits echoed all around him, and his paws went up to protect his ears. But he had no ears. Or paws. He had no body at all. But that meant…he was dead.

Shippou's shriek of fear echoed through his prison, mingling with those of the trapped women and girls whose souls made up the glue that kept Kikyo alive. He was in an undead hell, with no foreseeable way out. His frantic shriek wailed out again, sounding more desperate than it ever had in his short life time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The stench of death was everywhere, dripping in tangible droplets off every leaf and bough. Kagome's skin prickled, and even Sesshoumaru was disturbed. Kagome's nose had lead her to the one place that she could never find with Inuyasha.

Naraku's castle.

She had to wonder at that, that if she could find it as a hanyou of one month, where Inuyasha couldn't find it with senses he'd had since birth, then did that mean that she was more powerful than he? Or was it just blind luck? She dismissed those thoughts from her head, locking them in a compartment of her mind, to be mulled over at a more…convenient time. 

Rolls of miasma drifted around the castle, coiling around her legs, tangling in Sesshoumaru's pelt. She tilted her head back, studying the rock face in front of her. The castle sat atop it, a huge mausoleum for the undead, Kikyo and Naraku's refuge no longer. Kagome started for the cliff face, only to be jerked back by Sesshoumaru. 

"What do you want?" Kagome's snarl froze on the tips of her fangs when she saw the strange look on his face. Where he usually showed no feeling, be it disgust or aggravation, he wasn't taking that normal route anymore. Blind hatred had twisted his fine features-Kagome squashed that thought before it could go any further-into a rage filled mask, terrifying and bewitching to behold. Again, Kagome asked, her voice much softer this time. "Sesshoumaru? Is something the ma…"

He cuffed before she could finish. Hard. Rocks dug into her face, and then scrapped across her cheeks as Sesshoumaru kicked her in the ribs and sent her hurtling into the cliff, to lie crumpled at its base, a hard spike digging into her back. The world spun grey as Kagome raised her head, blood trickling down her forehead, only to have Sesshoumaru's hand wrap around her throat and drag her up to his eye level. His golden eyes blazed as he hauled her body up, until her toes dangled above the ground, and her hands frantically scrabbled at his wrists as he ever so slowly cut off her air supply. Choking, her vision swimming, Kagome saw a white haze move out of the corner of her eyes before Sesshoumaru slammed her head against the nearest rock, and her mind went dead.

~*~*~*~*~*

From the far reaches of his mind, Sesshoumaru watched his body move against his will. It was the weirdest feeling, watching his body move without really _feeling_ the movements. His mental wince as Kagome skidded up against the cliff was instantly forgotten as the insane chuckling started, again, and once more he strove to take control of his body, again. He couldn't give a toss what was happening to Kagome, she could take care of herself for what he cared, what was really bothering him was the lack of control he had. For someone who had had control of _everything all his life, having someone else take a hold of his body and use it to bash up a traveling companion was disconcerting, to say the least. The chuckling quieted into a dull burble, and then the hated voice came._

_'It's strange isn't it Sesshoumaru…to have someone else here in your head along with you'_

_'Naraku' _ The thought rang through his head and the chuckling rose a little before subsiding again.

_'I thought you were quicker than this Sesshoumaru. Really, you are a disappointment. So tell me, how will Jakken cope with Rin all by himself, without you there to play the referee? I dare say he'll tear her apart from frustration before long. And your precious protégé. What are you doing to her? I thought you would be more careful with a creature of your own creation.'_ Sesshoumaru's mind-form stiffened and his next words were clipped and tense.

_'How do you know all this?'_ The laughter burst through his mind, an ache along with it.

_'How do I know?!'_The ache spread further. _'My dear **boy,'**_ he sniggered, placing a world of scorn in the one word, _'I am in your mind. I know all, I see all. I know how Kagome came to be hanyou. I know why you saved her. I know why you keep Rin with you as much as possible. I know how your mother died. I know why you carry her pelt with you. I know why you can't, or should I say won't, kill Inuyasha. I know why yo…'_

**_'ENOUGH!' _**Sesshoumaru roared, the ache in his head nearly blinding. Gods knew how Naraku had gotten into his head, Sesshoumaru just wanted him out, so he could tear him apart, slowly, and watch the terror grow in his eyes, to feast on it, to laugh as he choked on his own blood.

_'My, my, aren't we our mother's bloodthirsty little boy? Not that it really makes a difference, I'm not through with you yet. But I think I'll try a different target, you bore me. Do you think Kagome's ever been mind raped?'_ With that last, horrifying thought, Naraku's presence vanished form his mind, and Sesshoumaru dropped to the ground, drained of all his energy in an instant. Straining, he pushed himself up on his forearms and looked for Kagome. She lay not ten yards from him, crumpled against a huge rock. She was safe. 

He sighed, relieved.

She twitched. **(*twitches*look mum, I can twitch too!!)**

A black aura began to grow around her, the tendrils of miasma coiling around her, lifting her into the air as her face contorted. Pain ripped across her features and she opened her mind in a silent scream, her back arching till Sesshoumaru thought it would break. Her fingers scratched at an unseen thing wrapped around her throat. She gasped, and her lips began to turn an unhealthy shade of blue. ****

_'She can't breathe…she can't breathe…'_ Sesshoumaru rolled himself onto his stomach and jerked himself to his knees, letting out a grunt of pain, his head still tender, his hands torn where Kagome had tried to free herself. Trembling, he got to his feet and let loose a howl of rage.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

_It was everywhere. She shrieked as it brushed around her legs, coiling around them like a cat. Frantically, she swung a hand at it, trying to brush it off. But her hand passed through nothing, and it continued to coil, sinuously winding up her legs, her hips, pinning her arms tightly at her side, until the thing's 'head' was level with hers. The amorphous worm rippled, then all of a sudden, his golden gaze was locked with hers._

_"Inuyasha…" _

_His face sneered, then pressed in close to hers. ~"You failed. Shippou's dead. All because you couldn't save him. Now he'll never find his parents again."~_

_"Noooo…" Kagome shook her head desperately, denying what she felt, what he somehow knew was in her heart._

_~"Yes. You failed me too. You're with my brother, my greatest enemy," his sneer disappeared and his face became sad, "why didn't you come back to me? Why do you continue to stay away? How am I supposed to find the shards if I don't have you?"_

_"I...he's not your enemy Inuyasha! He saved me!" her cry was frantic. "You have Kikyo to help you find the shards. You don't need me, you said so yourself. You love her anyway, why do I matter."_

_His face frowned, then burst out in malicious laughter. ~"You're absolutely right!! Thank you for pointing out my mistake. I do have Kikyo. Thank the gods for that, she more than makes up for your incompetence and stupidity. She'd never have gotten herself into the mess that you're in, and if she somehow had, she'd have gotten herself out of it!! You'll never be as good as her!"~_

_Tears tracked their lonely way down Kagome's face as the mockery of Inuyasha bobbed in front of her, reveling in her despair. "You…you're wrong…you're not Inuyasha.."_

_The face laughed. ~"Oh, I may not be him in the flesh, but you know that this is how he feels. Deep in your heart, you know I'm right."~_

_The worm slid down Kagome's body, cackling as it went. Kagome cupped her face in her hands and dropped to the apparently non-existent ground. Broken and shattered, she sat, rocking herself, her empty denials echoing in the never-ending darkness._

_'Kagome…' She jerked her head up._

_'Sango?!'__ A spot in the inky blackness swam, and out of it came a spot of silvery light, which floated up to caress Kagome's cheek._

_'Yes my friend. I am sorry…'_

_'Wha...what happened to you?'_

_the__ glistening orb quivered a moment, then stilled. 'Kagome-san, you must wake up. You cannot let Naraku take you like this…"_

_'But…'_

_'WAKE UP' The blot of silver spread until it was all that Kagome could see, then exploded in a myriad of stars._

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thunderous growls echoed in Kagome's ears, and she reached an aching hand up to cover them. Silky fur tickled her nose, and something huge leapt over her, the breeze it created ruffling her hair. Surprised, her eyes burst open. 

The massive demon before her snarled its fury at the baboon before it, and leapt again. Silvery fur twisted like spun silk in the wind, and scarlet mad eyes tracked the baboon skin, murderous and deadly claws flexed, gouging furrows in the earth as it moved. Awed by its grace, she followed it as it bounded after the taunting hanyou that always somehow managed to avoid its claws. Naraku slid around the dog's feet and headed for her. It howled, and dove for her as well, and, startled by their speed, she started to scream. The dog reached her first and it twisted the instant it landed, roaring a warning at Naraku. The hanyou cackled, his belittling torment piercing Kagome's ears, making her whimper in renewed fear and despair. The huge dog before her howled and sliced at the mad hanyou, finally cutting through the skin and wooden doll underneath. 

Not missing a beat, the gigantic dog spun around, and before she could move a muscle, it had scooped her up in its jaws and galloped horse-like away from the castle. Petrified to stupefaction, Kagome didn't even begin to wonder why the things razor teeth were being so gentle, why the thing was taking her _away_ from Naraku, and why it seemed so damn familiar.

Only when it was a good distance from the castle, all scent of miasma gone, did the dog stop, and carefully let Kagome roll from its jaws. She collapsed to her knees, and stared up at the creature that had saved her. Emerald eyes, the rage red bleeding from them, stared back at her, intelligent. She had seen that…"Sesshoumaru?"

The great dog before her bowed its magnificent head, and Kagome let out a breath she had not known she had been holding. "Thank you….that's your demon form then?"

He nodded, watching her warily. "Why, then, do you go around looking like such a priss when you could look so cool?"

He huffed and turned his head from her. Her next question froze him. "Did...did you see Sango or Miroku, at all?" 

Kagome watched him twist his head over his shoulder and work something loose. With a clatter, Hiraikotsu and Miroku's beads and staff dropped before her.

Kagome's world shattered.

**AN-I told you we wouldn't get any butt whooping in here. It will come, be patient. *waggles a finger* I was going to have Naraku throw their heads at her feet, but I didn't think that ya'll would appreciate it. That seemed pretty gross, even for me…..  :-P Kikyo torture to come, I promise.**

**Silver**


	7. Basket Case

AN-now, this is going to be really late because I'm in New Zealand (back home, yeah !^.^) and the only access that I have to a computer is my dad's work computer and as that's the case, it's not like I can just get on it when I want to. 

**_In answer to a question, or two or three or four, Sesshoumaru's eyes are golden, but when he's in his full demon form, they're more of a green than gold, and when he's really mad, they go red. And yeah, Kagome did know what his demon form was, but I think that I said at the start of this that I'd be taking liberties with the characters, and I took one with the storyline there, but I'll try and sort it out when I get_**** _home._ Yep, just checked, you guys are going to get this chapter late cos I'm not allowed to connect to the Internet, no how, no way. Right, now that I think I've gotten everything that I wanted to say out of the way, I'll get on with the chapter… when I figure out what I want to happen in it, I will…and have I mentioned how sorry I am that this has taken 2+ months to come out? Sorry, but I just couldn't think of a thing to happen. If you want something to happen to some one in this fic, just let me know in a review, and I will see what I can do. By the way, a theme track for this chapter could be(stress the could be) Limp Bizkit's  "Break Stuff"**

**Warning: angst, violence, suicidal tendencies, and maybe a little fluff ahead.**

**_DISCLAIMER-_****I do not own any of the characters in this anime, neither Kagome, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, etc, etc. if you do happen to read, however, of any characters that you've never heard of, they will most likely be mine, but chances are that I'm just going to use the original characters in the anime and not make up any of my own, takes too much time. That, and I'm just lazy. ^.~**

Basket Case 

Have you ever had the feeling that you can't control your own life? That it's all just spiraling out of control, and all you can do is sit there and watch it? The feeling that all you've worked for, all you've accomplished, the people you've met and befriended, the people that you've loved--that you're losing all of it and you can't do a thing about it? It gets to the point where you simply can't stand it and you just want it to all end; when it overwhelms you and pushes you to the brink, but something holds you back, something that you fight war against with all your might, but it won't let you go. 

She'd reached that stage. 

At the sight of her once-friends weapons and safeguards, Kagome cracked. Her world had been slowly slipping from her grasp, now it fell completely. Head reeling, heart broken, she slumped to the forest floor, staring wide-eyed at the ground in front of her. Blankly, she reached out a finger and traced the edge of Hiraikotsu. Above her, Sesshoumaru watched, wary and alert. Still in his demon form, he crouched next to her, resting his flank against her back, trying to gain a response from her. 

A drip of red fell from Kagome's finger where she'd cut it on the razor edge of Sango's weapon; she showed no sign of pain, merely continued to pull her finger along, deepening the cut. The great dog behind her whimpered ever so slightly, but she gave him no heed: instead, gripped the boomerang and picked it up, holding it close, turning it this way and that, marveling at its shape. More blood dribbled from her finger, the droplets making a liquid pattern on the dry leaf floor.

Normally, Sesshoumaru would have stood back and watched the girl's strange behavior, for it was curious and new. But the blankness in her usually expressive features was starting to worry him. He watched her run a hand almost lovingly down the weapon, and reach out to stroke the monk's staff. Tenderly, she laid her cheek on the taijya's **(oh damn, would some one please tell me how to spell it properly??)** favored weapon and closed her eyes. By this point, thoroughly worried and not bothering to wonder why he was so worried, let alone feeling anything towards this miko, Sesshoumaru began to transform back to his humanoid form. Brushing his hair from his eyes as he stood, Sesshoumaru turned towards Kagome. He balked at what he saw. Kagome had raised Hiraikotsu to her throat, and was preparing to slice the thing across her throat.

Later, when Kagome would look back on it, she would see how stupid she had been, yet she'd laugh at what Sesshoumaru had done…not that she wasn't grateful, it was just how he did it. In true hero fashion, like one straight out of a romance novel, he leapt over to her and ripped the boomerang out of her hands like one would pull away a poisonous snake. What he did next though, was not so hero-ish, more in line with his true demon nature. Viciously, he backhanded her across her face, sending her sprawling over the ground. 

Sesshoumaru was not prepared for Kagome's reaction though.

Instead of crumpling and weeping like he expected her to do, she sprang at him, swiping with claw, and biting with tooth. Caught unawares, Sesshoumaru stumbled ungracefully backwards, and was rewarded for his previous efforts with two deep cuts across his chest, and a bite on the palm of the hand he'd instinctively thrown up to protect his face. 

Regaining his senses, he shoved her back, but brought Hiraikotsu up the next minute to deflect a sapphire dart. She had finally learnt how to use the poison she had inherited from him, channeling it into darts and arrows of various sizes, all of which she threw at Sesshoumaru with a vengeance. He was hard pressed to avoid them, deflecting them with the demon huntress's weapon, dodging the few that he missed. Some of the smaller darts even he could not avoid however, and they left smoking trails through his clothing and flesh.

Ignoring the many stings from the dart inflicted wounds, Sesshoumaru flung Hiraikotsu from him, and studied Kagome as she crouched, waiting for his first move. Her gray-blue eyes had vanished, replaced with blood red orbs, glaring insanity and bloodlust at him. Her teeth had lengthened, the incisors hanging just below her bottom lip. A drop of blood fell from one, his blood. Sesshoumaru looked at his palm and snorted. She had truly gone feral, just as his idiot brother had, loosing all reason and logic. The thought of her friends dead had been too much for her, he reasoned, and knowing no other way to express her grief, she had let her demon blood take over when he had stopped her from killing herself.

"Kagome!"

No response.

More insistent this time, "_Kagome!_"

All she did was growl, and jump at him again, aiming her claws for his eyes in one ferocious jab. Swiftly he brought his arm up and around, catching her outstretched arm and tossing her away from him. But she was up on her feet in an instant, and before jumping for him for a third time, she let loose a barrage of poison, in formless barbs.

Not expecting her to try again so quickly, Sesshoumaru was once again caught unprepared, and dart after dart sliced through him, peppering his legs and chest full of holes. Choking on his own blood, he fell to one knee. Some remote part of his mind was impressed with her; she surpassed his brother in so many ways. Before he could gain his feet, she was on him, stabbing for his eyes in a mindless fury. This time, his counter was not swift enough, and one golden orb went dark. Mindless himself now, the pain sent him wild and with a howl, he threw Kagome off. She sailed over the clearing and crashed head first into a tree. Kagome slumped to the ground, lifeless in unconsciousness. 

Gasping in pain, yet still trying not to show it, even though there was no one around to see his weakness, Sesshoumaru stumbled over to Kagome, and crumpled his tall form next to her. He reached a trembling hand up to her forehead and smoothed away her bangs, a careless gesture. One finger caught a drop of blood from a cut in her hairline. The droplet fizzed on his finger, the purifying side of it rejecting his touch, the demon part of it welcoming him. He absently wiped it on his pant leg as darkness rushed towards him. 

Sesshoumaru's head dropped on to Kagome's shoulder, blood pooling from his ruined eye and running down his cheek to soak her haori. The unconscious pair sat there like that for hours, neither noticing the white insect demons that swirled about them for a while, then spiraled up into the sky and headed south, back in the direction of Naraku's  castle.

~*~

Her head hurt. That was the first thought that floated into Kagome's head as she awoke. Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked a few times as the world swam before her. Groaning, she put a hand to her aching head, and drew it back, sticky and red with her blood. Kagome frowned and traced the lip of the cut, wincing as she poked it too hard, the bruising around it protesting at her touching it. Gathering herself, she hauled her body into a more comfortable sitting position, and was thoroughly startled when Sesshoumaru's head dropped from its place on her shoulder to her lap.

That was when she first felt the wetness that soaked her entire right shoulder, from the very top of her shoulder all the way down her arm and side. Horrified, she brought her arm up and smothered a gasp at the sight of the blood.

_So much blood…_

Then a thought occurred to her and she gently straightened Sesshoumaru's body as best she could from her position, carefully avoiding the deep gashes across his chest, and placing his wounded hand softly on his stomach, out of the dirt and muck. Finally she lightly placed her hands either side of his head and rolled it so she could see his whole face. When she did, Kagome turned her head away and retched. The right side of his face was as perfect as ever, but the left…

His eye was gone, ruined. What was left was a pile of wrought tissue and delicate veins, an oozing mess. A shallow cut ran up from the bottom of his face, getting progressively deeper as it neared his eye. Gathering a fistful of her long sleeves, Kagome tried to wipe the worst of the blood away, stoically pushing back the urge to gag. 

When she slipped, and the cloth touched his ruined eye, Sesshoumaru's face contorted, and he reflexively tried to blink, only managing to cause himself more pain. Tears leaked from Kagome's eyes, and she bent over Sesshoumaru, pleading for him to wake up.

~*~

Deep in the mists of pain, Sesshoumaru heard someone calling his name. Soft, feminine, and worried...Kagome. Struggling, he pulled himself from the haze and opened his one remaining eye. She was bent over him, searching his face for signs of life. Relief flooded her face as she saw him awake. Unthinkingly, she bent over him and gently nuzzled his unhurt cheek.

"I was so worried…I thought…what happened to you Sesshoumaru? I don't remember anything from…" she looked away as a fresh tear trickled down her cheek the memory of her friends. Steeling herself, she turned back to Sesshoumaru. "What happened?"

Grimacing, he pulled himself from her lap, and sat up, back to her concern. "You happened." He didn't need to turn around to see her confusion. "You let your demon blood take over. You attacked me." He heard her gasp, and imagined her placing her hands over her mouth in horror.

"But I… I don't remember it…."

"You probably won't, not for a while at least. But it was you." Any tactfulness he had possessed as a fresh wave of pain swept through him and he shuddered. Instantly, Kagome was on her knees beside him, one small hand on his shoulder, the other turning his faced toward her. Self-disgust and pity was spread over her face as she took in the full sight of what she had done. Unflinching, he stared back at her, and had the satisfaction of seeing her swallow, trying not to throw up.

Kagome swallowed again. "I…I think I can fix your eye….I mean, I know how to heal…it's just I've never healed a person…well, demon, before…but I can give it a go...I mean I can try…if you'll let me…" . She trailed off and looked at the ground, embarrassed and sickened with herself. Her hands fell to lie in her lap, limp and useless.

"No"

Her head whirled to face him, the tips of her hair brushing over his cheek. "What?!"

"No. I will not be an experiment for you to test your powers."

"B…but your eye!" she stammered, incredulous that he would not, could not, let go of his pride. Kagome reached a hand toward his eye, but he smacked it away.

"I said no, what is it you do not understand huma…hanyou?" his slip of the tongue was quickly covered, the indifferent mask remaining in place.

Kagome was seething. Sesshoumaru had slipped into the same tone that Inuyasha used to take when he was feeling all high and mighty. She was sick of being treated like she was inferior, and she would be damned if she wasn't going to have even one chance to fix the damage she had inadvertently caused. "What is it with you?! Can you not even take a simple offer of help from anyone?! Or is it because I'm a half-demon, Inuyasha's former wench? Or is your damn pride just to stubborn to let you have a single moment of 'weakness'? Can't you just give me a bloody chance?!" and here her voice dropped to a whisper, "Please?"

Sesshoumaru stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, his remaining eye carefully devoid of any emotion. Finally he held his hand out to her, palm up. Wordlessly she took it, and reached inside herself to where her miko power rested. Gathering a tendril of it, she spun it out and pulled it out through her hands. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she visualized the indigo light wrapping around the cut and sealing the lips of it shut, healing the torn skin, repairing the damaged tissues.

Sesshoumaru hissed as her magic poured into him. Its nature was completely contrary to his. Miko purification versus demon destruction. But it was working.  Slowly, nerves grew back, tissues re-knitted, and skin smoothed out. Done with his hand, Kagome moved infinitesimally closer and touched her fingertips to his cheek, repeating the process.

"Why were you aiming for my eyes?"

Kagome drew her hand back, and Sesshoumaru blinked, once again whole and unblemished. "Why did I go for your eyes? I guess….I guess they reminded me so much of Inuyasha. I was furious at him for not being there to protect Sango, Miroku and Shippou, from whatever happened to them. I can't understand that. Whatever his feelings towards me, he was still friends with them in his own harsh way. He would never let anything happen to them without first trying to do something about it, and then if he failed, he'd seek revenge until the day he died. That's why I tried to destroy your eyes, I was angry, confused, and…lost. I don't know what's happening anymore…" her voice dropped, along with her head as she stared at the leaf-covered ground.

"If you'd shown even a third of this kind of potential before Naraku 'attacked' us, Kagome, I might have had a mind to keep you around."

Shock blanched Kagome's face, and Sesshoumaru's hackles rose. Swaggering like the over-confident pup that he was, Inuyasha pushed his way into the clearing. Kikyo silently followed him. Kagome was only vaguely aware of Sesshoumaru's presence next to her, or the formless white blur that circled them in the trees. Inuyasha was in front of her once more and that was enough to set her blood roiling.

His face twisted as he took in her new form. "My, my, Sesshoumaru, you have been a busy boy, haven't you? Turning her into a hanyou. That was a marvelous stroke of genius," Inuyasha sneered and sniffed in Kagome's direction. "smells good."

Kagome blushed, and beside her, Sesshoumaru snarled, upper lip curling in rage. Distracted from the hanyou before her, Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru curiously, then jumped when his hand found hers. "No one, brother, talks about her like that. Not that idiot wolf that I've heard follows her, and certainly not you."

Inuyasha raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Well, aren't you being protective? Tell me, _brother, who is watching over Rin while you are here? Or is she alone with that shit-headed retainer of yours, because I…"_

Before he could finish his sentence, he was swept from his feet by Sesshoumaru's whip. Instantly he was back on his feet, a transformed Tetsusaiga in his hand. Briefly, in the lull before the two began attacking one another in earnest, Kagome wondered why the sword had transformed. It was only supposed to transform to protect humans. But all those thoughts were swept away as the two vehemently charged each other and the crash with which the brothers met reverberated through the clearing. Helplessly , Kagome started forward, meaning to separate them, but stopped dead in her tracks as a problem of her own presented itself to her.

"Kikyo…"

"I have said time and time again that I will have him, and now I do."

"How? He would never abandon his friends…" she trailed off as she remembered how he had spit at her, cursed her, and driven her away.

Kikyo watched the play of emotion across the younger miko's face for a minute before she answered. "You are right in a way. He would never willingly leave his friends for me. He would certainly not leave you. But there are methods of persuasion that not even he could refuse…"

Kagome's mouth dropped open as she stared at the undead miko. _'Methods of persuasion…'. "What did you do to him?!"_

"Nothing that he did not want willingly. You may see for yourself, eventually, but I doubt it. you have plagued me long enough, and I will rid myself of you now, once and for all!" Kikyo's hands swung up, and an arrow sped from a bow that Kagome had not even noticed. Startled, with Kikyo's words swirling in her head, Kagome dived to avoid the arrow, sending a dart of blue power at it simultaneously. The two connected, and the resulting explosion of miko powers bore over the demon battle behind them, and blasted through the trees. 

Inuyasha was thrown of balance; he had been closer to the dead miko and her reincarnation when the blast went off. Taking that advantage, Sesshoumaru swept his claws down his brother's front. Blood sprayed from the resulting cuts and Sesshoumaru started as it struck his cheeks. It was no so much the blood that had surprised him, even though it felt twisted and used; but rather, it was the dark pink spark that flew from it's former place in Inuyasha's forehead. The glittering shared sparkled towards the ground, and Sesshoumaru cupped his hand to catch it.

Kagome's eyes jerked from Kikyo's as she broke the mental battle in answer to Sesshoumaru's shout.  Confused, she stumbled to his side; the undead miko forgotten as she took in what presented itself before her. Inuyasha was splayed on the ground, twin cuts running from his forehead, down the left side of his nose, neck and chest. She peered closer; something was not right with the tear on his forehead, however Sesshoumaru's hand on her shoulder pulled her around. Wordlessly, he gestured to what lay in his palm. Frowning, Kagome followed his gaze and gasped when she saw what he held. It explained the wrongness of the wound on Inuyasha's forehead, and the whole sense of wrongness that had surrounded him.

_"…Methods of persuasion…"_

 A sullied, near black shard of the Shikon Jewel lay cupped in Sesshoumaru's palm.

_"…Methods of persuasion…_ "

**AN-well, this is the start of something beautiful, I can feel it.^.^ I'm so sorry that this took so long to come out; I've tried to make up for it with the length of the chapter, but I had to end it here, for if I started in on what has to happen next, then it'd just be waaaaay too long ^.^;;;; sorry, I'll be writing tonight, you can be sure.**


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